


Chess

by TheBearMuse



Series: Tahni Lavellan [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 06:38:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3239981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBearMuse/pseuds/TheBearMuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Solas and Cassandra face off over Skyhold's chessboard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chess

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vesaldi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vesaldi/gifts).



> Prompted by Inyriforge.

Tahni blinked at the sudden burst of sunlight as she entered Skyhold's garden. Meeting with Josephine and Leliana had taken far more of the day than she'd realized. Hopefully Cullen was here so she wouldn't have to walk all the way over to his quarters to check in with him. Tahni was already half-blinded by the harshness of the midday sun as it was. But it was not the commander who was seated at the chess table.

"It is your move, Seeker." Solas's tone was patient, as ever.

"I know that," Cassandra replied through gritted teeth.

Tahni kept her distance, not wanting to interrupt either's concentration. She hadn't gotten to see Solas all day, but this was such an unprecedented match... She needed to see how it would play out.

Cassandra hesitated, holding a gloved hand over the board. She grasped the top of one of her mages, then just as quickly dropped it and moved her hand away. _He's certainly not holding her to the touch rule,_ Tahni noted with amusement. She wondered if that was an act of kindness on his part or if Solas was merely trying to keep himself from bodily harm. _Probably both._ At last, Cassandra moved one of her knights forward. "Check," she said with confidence.

"So it is," Solas agreed, a note of approval in his voice. He considered for a few moments before moving his king forward a row, leaving the Seeker to ponder the board again.

Tahni suppressed a smile. She'd played - and lost - enough matches against him herself to suspect that Solas had added that pause deliberately. He never held back when playing against any opponent, but he would take some small pains not to embarrass weaker players too badly. Despite his apparent advantage, Solas seemed not to have noticed that they had an audience. His eyes never left Cassandra, watching as she boldly settled on moving her queen forward to take one of his mages.

"Careful, Seeker." Solas moved one of his towers, taking Cassandra's queen from the board. "Check."

Cassandra cursed loudly, startling a courier who happened to be walking by. Her face flushed red as the hooded woman rushed off. Taking a breath, the Seeker turned back to the board to regain her composure.

Tahni stole a glance at Solas, who was waiting patiently with his fingers steepled. Had Cassandra been playing against the Iron Bull, Dorian, or even Leliana, they would have been taunting her, trying to keep her rattled. "It is all part of the game!" as Leliana would have put it. Tahni wrinkled her nose at the thought. Such tactics felt like cheating to her, which was why she was content to let them all think she was only interested in playing against Solas for..."other" reasons.

With a low growl, Cassandra finally moved her king one row to the side. She nodded curtly, signifying the end of her turn. Tahni edged closer, trying to get a clearer look at the board. Cassandra still had most of her high-ranking pieces, but the loss of her queen must have hurt terribly.

Solas nudged forward one of his pawns. Though his expression hadn’t changed, Tahni knew he was up to something. His late game pawn movements were generally bad news for his opponent. _Poor Cassandra._

She looked to the Seeker, who didn’t seem to realize she was in danger yet. Cassandra frowned at the board, lost in thought. Unexpectedly, she picked up her king and moved it back diagonally, retreating further into the corner. Guess she did see it coming. Tahni was impressed that Cassandra hadn’t gotten cocky in the face of a mere pawn movement.

Solas let a smile creep onto his face as he pushed his tower into the back row. “I’m afraid that’s checkmate.” Tahni held back a gasp even as the Seeker growled irritably. They had both missed that Solas had prepared for a possible defensive move. “You played well, Cassandra. More importantly, you played honorably.”

“You do not need to coddle me, Solas,” Cassandra returned gruffly. ”I am no child. I know when I am outmatched.”

“It is not coddling to tell someone that you respect them for playing fairly. I appreciate not needing to worry about a knight mysteriously reappearing on the board.” Solas rose to his feet and stretched. “You would be surprised how difficult it is to find opponents in Skyhold who never cheat. There’s you, Commander Cullen, the Iron Bull, and...ah, Tahni!” His ears twitched almost imperceptibly when he saw her. Tahni’s cheeks heated as she moved to join them, even though there was no way for Cassandra to have known…

“He’s right, you know,” Tahni said perhaps a bit too quickly. “Honest opponents are hard to find. I’d be honored to play against you myself. After I find Cullen, of course,” she added guiltily.

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Tahni suspiciously. “I suppose that could be arranged,” the Seeker finally replied, having apparently decided that Tahni was telling the truth. “You know where to find me.”

“I look forward to it!” Tahni called after Cassandra as she left. Solas snickered quietly behind her. “What? I am!”

"If you were truly pressed for time, you would not have watched for so long."

Tahni sighed. Of _course_ he had noticed. She knew she should have stood behind him instead of to the side of the board. "I wanted to give Cassandra the option."

“To cool down first?” he smirked. “Yes, I quite agree that was a wise decision.”

“She’ll play better when she’s calm.”

“Exactly.”

Solas was standing too close to her. Tahni could feel the question he wasn’t asking. “If you’re not busy, maybe we could play afterwards. I should go see Cullen first.” She pressed a finger to his lips, cutting off his imminent challenge. “Really. I’ve already delayed too long and I want to make sure he’s okay.”

“Ma nuvenin,” Solas chuckled. “I will remain here.”

As Tahni rushed off, she wondered if she could coax Cullen to play against Solas first. Now _that_ would be something to see...


End file.
